A Story To Be Told Begins Thus
by LadyOfWar2005
Summary: It's always the smallest of changes that tend to do the most damage to the best laid plans. For instance, two demi-immortal people that have been fighting for thousands of years suddenly find the answers to all their problems in the form of a new student at Beacon Academy. Now the only question is how much of the map is going to need to be redrawn once he's through?
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1: New Arrivals**

The spirit of Ozma had inhabited many bodies over the thousands of years since he'd foolishly decided to accept the God of Light's deal of returning to his home-world, suffering in some lives while prospering in others. Yet it wasn't until he helped found the four Huntsmen academies that Ozma truly felt like he was doing something to better mankind; at least more than just constantly trying to stall his now ex-wife. He now stood in the main tower of Beacon Academy, inhabiting the body of his latest incarnation; a young man by the name of Aleister Crowley. This incarnation placed him in the body of a young man born with wealth, a wealth he then used to reclaim his position as headmaster of beacon. He was also fairly good looking, with neatly combed black hair, a strong jaw, warm brown eyes, and a rather unique semblance. There were naturally rumors going around about how he bought his position, which was rather funny in Ozma's opinion considering he practically built the school itself, yet years had calmed his temper quite a bit.

Still, Aleister watched as several transport ships flew promising new students to his school; the latest model coming right off the production lines of Atlas itself. He'd decided to be a bit more hands on this go around, especially after the disaster that was his previous life, and chose each of the attending students himself. It had taken him several days to go through each application himself, having next to no sleep, but at least it would be much harder for Salem to send in a team of her own and quite literally slit his throat while he slept. Perhaps it was time he struck back, which meant molding the best teams of this year into his own personal agents; something that he was still torn on doing.

"Headmaster Crowley, the students are almost all assembled in the main hall. Are you ready?" came a voice from just a few feet behind Aleister, both prim and proper in all ways professional and belonging to the one and only Elphaba Thropp.

"Thank you, Ms. Thropp, I'll be down in a moment," Aleister replied as formally as he could, giving off the impression of a man that needed a moment to adjust to his new position in life when in reality he was mentally preparing himself for the coming trials that this latest generation would bring him.

"Sir," Elphaba nodded stiffly before turning around and marching out the door, her long black dress flowing with each step, leaving Aleister alone with his thoughts.

"I wonder what you plan is this time, Salem? Will it be another group of assassins, a horde of Grimm, or perhaps starting another war? *Chuckle* Is it strange that this is what we consider romantic, trying to find some way to end each other after all these years?" Aleister just shook his head as a single tear slid down his cheek and landed on his glove covered hand, "Although, I do believe it's my turn to strike at you, wouldn't you agree?"

Aleister turned and began to slowly walk towards one of three elevators leading up to his office, the ominous glow of the green overhead lights cast a shadow over his features. For just a moment, a fraction of a second, the man's eyes glowed a vicious green. Slowly the elevator doors opened and Aleister stepped in, turning to face the doors and pressing the button with his cane.

"Let the games begin."

* * *

While many of the new students at Beacon were being flown in on some of the most advanced aircraft known to Remnant, a select few other students were being brought in by the docks located at the very base of the cliff Beacon itself was built upon. The water based vehicles pulled up to the stone docks of Beacon, lowering their massive ramps and allowing those select few to step out into the light. It should be noted that those who exited the boats looked a lot rougher than those that came by airship, possessing a glint in their eyes that spoke volumes of what life has thrown at them. Each of them were already armed and armored with their personal equipment, having refused to hand it over no matter who asked or ordered them to.

Yet, while everyone seemed to be sticking to themselves, two people stood together and eyed everyone else with suspicion. They were twins by all obvious characteristics, with almost matching red eyes, the same shade of black hair, and the way they stuck close to one another in a way that was more than friends but less than lovers.

The first and eldest of the twins was named Raven, after her ability to draw others in and command them through fear while also maintaining a mysterious yet strong aura. She was about the same height as her twin, only about an inch or so shorter, but it was clear that she was the one in charge between the two. Her torn red and black dress, cut short to reveal a pair of black shorts, had caught the wandering eye of many of the other new students. Her hands and forearms were wrapped loosely in white bandages, no doubt giving some splight protection from the elements, while thigh high black boots protected the majority of her lower legs utilizing small leather plates sown in. Finally, strapped to her waist by a single piece of rope, was a single edged sword that was just slightly curved and held in a wooden sheath that looked rough and hastily put together.

Next was Qrow, whose own outfit was just as well put together as his sisters. From his tattered white shirt, black gloves that looked like a five-year-old cut the fingers off, hole filled pants, and old black boots caked in mud. Strapped to the back of his waist was a slightly longer than normal short-sword with a sawed-off shotgun strapped to his left leg in a homemade holster. Finally, wrapped around his forehead was a long grey piece of cloth that helped keep his own wild black hair out of his face.

All it all, they looked like they just crawled out of the woods after fighting an Ursa with their bare hands! Almost everyone around them got the feeling that these two were on a completely different level than they were, holding themselves like two wolves being cornered on all sides by another pack.

"Heh, how nice of them," Qrow grunted, his voice low and raspy as his light red eyes gazed up at the massive path up the cliffside.

"Don't tell me you're afraid of walking up a few stairs, little brother," Raven mocked, placing her hands on her hips and sending Qrow a cheeky smirk that always seemed to crawl right under his skin.

"Are you saying you actually _want_ to?" Qrow countered, crossing his arms over his chest.

"I'm not going to bitch about it," Raven turned and began walking up stairs without another word, resolved to leave Qrow behind and let him catch up if he didn't want to simply be left behind; it was the Branwen thing to do.

"Hey, I'm just saying they could have at least built an elevator or something. Aren't these people supposed to be more advanced than us common folk or something?" Qrow grumbled as he quickly caught up to Raven and walked in sink with her with his hands stuffed in his pockets.

"Don't get too used to being here, remember why we're here in the first place," Raven whispered harshly, making sure no one nearby could hear her properly or even read her lips.

"Yea yea yea, I'm just saying why not take advantage of not actually having to look over our shoulders for once or sleeping with one eye open. Hell, I'm sure even _you_ could get laid in a place like this," the younger twin just knew he was going to get it the next time Raven thought she could get away with punishing him.

"I will _end_ you!" if there was one thing Raven had almost no control over, it was her temper.

"LOOK OUT BELOW!" fortunately for Qrow, his legendary bad luck was apparently focused completely on Raven seeing as she had to practically dive out of the way just seconds before a human shaped object slammed into the stone stairs.

"You bastard, just wait till I get back up there! I'm gonna beat the shit out of ya!" Raven could only stare wide eyed as the person that had nearly crushed her, who had apparently landed on his feet while cracking the stone beneath him, shouted back up at the top of the cliff while shaking his fist dramatically.

"Dude, did you just fall off a cliff and land on your _feet_?" Qrow asked, his eyes almost comically wide at how ridiculous what he just saw was.

"Huh, I didn't know there were even more students coming to Beacon," the new arrival seemed to have finally noticed the twins, along with all the other rough looking teenagers that were giving him equally as wide eyed looks.

Standing at around the same height as Qrow himself, the new arrival was almost the polar opposite of the rough looking teenager. With his wild and spiky blonde hair shooting out in seemingly every direction, bright blue eyes that became even brighter when the sun hit them a certain way, and three odd whisker marks on his cheeks. The clothes he wore were evidently designed to make him as light as possible, with only a light orange colored jacket and pants, a pair of open toed combat themed sandals, and light armor along his forearms and lower legs. His weapon, or in this case weapons, of choice were eight kunai held in a specially designed kama that allowed four to be placed on each side of his legs. Strapped to his arm was another kunai but designed differently from his other ones, given that it had three blades instead of one and the handle was a bit thicker. Also held in his kama were four large cylinders that had a different symbol for four different elements, ranging from wind, fire, earth, and ice. Finally, holstered to his back was a wakizashi about twenty-four inches in length.

"Just what kind of place trains people that can survive that far of a fall?" Qrow heard one of the other new students say without thinking about who may have heard him.

"Hm, why are you sitting on the ground like that?" Naruto asked innocently, tilting his head when he saw Raven was still looking at him with a freaked out expression from her position on the ground, holding out his hand, "Want some help up?"

Raven seemed to finally shake out of her stupor and shot to her feet in an instant, slapping the blonde's hand away a bit rougher than was necessary as she did so, and wasted no time in trying to establish dominance, "What do you mean asking such a stupid question like that?! I moved out of the way so you wouldn't _kill me_!"

Uh-oh, Qrow had seen that look before and it generally never ended well for the person it was aimed at! The way her bandaged hands instinctively wrapped around the hilt of her sword, how her body grew tense in preparation for attack; the last person in such a position had their head removed and body left for the worms! The younger twin knew how impulsive Raven could be when her fuse was already lit and chopping off someone's head was a sure fire way to get them both thrown in jail before they'd actually learned anything!

"Well I did shout for everyone to look out, isn't that enough warning to move?" the blonde was digging his grave deeper and deeper, Qrow could actually sent a small prayer out to any god listening at the moment.

"That's not the point!" Raven pulled her sword free by just an inch, gritting her teeth when the blonde still continued to look confused.

"Then what is the point?" that had been enough, Raven had had enough and Qrow watched in worry as she finally tore her blade free in an attempt to remove the blonde's head in one fluid motion.

Qrow would forever remember this as the day Raven _failed_ to kill someone when she was actually trying to. In almost slow motion the blonde rotated on is feet and dropped down low, low enough so that he could slice the small rope holding the sheath to Raven's sword with the three pronged kunai now held in his left hand. With his right hand he grabbed the falling sheath, regained his footing, and positioned the tip of it right under Raven's chin. All of this managed to take place in the time it took the blackette to finish her initial swing. Needless to say the anger in her eyes was quick to fade away and was instead replaced by a certain amount of shock she wasn't expecting to experience while at Beacon Academy. She'd been outclassed by someone her own age, a feeling she'd never experienced before while living with the tribe!

"My names Naruto, by the way," the blonde grinned as he took a step back and just started walking away with the sheath to Raven's sword, "Ja ne!"

"Hey, you alright there?" Qrow asked, making sure to keep out of sword striking distance just in case Raven decided to come after him next.

"Get back here, you bastard!" Raven soundly ignored her twin in favor of finally taking off after Naruto, who was somehow already halfway up the mountain while still walking at a casual pace.

"How the hell did he do that, wasn't he just in front of us?" Qrow's eye twitched, he should have stayed back with the tribe.

(**Fifteen Minutes Earlier**)

"HELLO BEACON ACADEMY!" Naruto shouted as he stood on top of one of the many light poles that lined the pathway to Beacons massive main door.

Life was good, at least until a rock suddenly pelted him right in the head and sent the blonde crashing to the unforgiving ground below. It was thanks to years of training that Naruto managed to flip around and land safely on his feet, catching the second rock thrown at his face with practiced ease. Standing just a few yards away, a smirk almost permanently carved onto his face, was Taiyang Xiao Long casually tossing another sizable rock up and down. Tai looked like a toned down version of Naruto, with blonde hair that wasn't as bright, blue eyes that weren't as shining, and a presence that wasn't quite as hyperactive.

"What the hell was that for, you bastard?!" Naruto yelled, dramatically pointing at Tai while stomping over to his fellow blonde; the both of them being completely ignored by the other new students of Beacon.

"Mom and dad said to keep you from doing something stupid," Tai said with a shrug, no more intimidated of Naruto that one would be of an angry puppy, "And I'd say shouting at the top of your lungs while standing on a light pole definitely counts as stupid."

"So you threw a rock at my head, you could have killed me! Besides, the view of this place is much better up there!" Naruto moved to tackle Tai, only for both boys to pause when they heard a very girlish giggle that was no doubt directed at them.

Sitting on top of the very light pole Naruto had just been standing on as a girl around their age dressed in a long white cloak, with the hood up, giggling while eating a bright red apple. The first thing Naruto recognized about her was her odd silver eyes that seemed to flash almost pure white when the sun caught them. Tai, on the other hand, noticed the knee length black skirt she was wearing along with her grey stockings and knee high boots with red soles. Then there was also her black blouse and black/red corset.

"I think you're right, the view _is_ much better from up here," the girl giggled some more at Taiyang's suddenly flushed face as she carelessly kicked her legs back and forth like a little kid sitting on a bench that was to big for them.

"See Tai, the cute girl agrees with be," Naruto smirked, crossing his arms and closing his eyes with a triumphant smirk, only to grow confused when he didn't hear Tai say anything back.

"I think I broke him," said the girl from her new and sudden position next to Naruto, almost making the blonde scream like a little girl if he didn't have more self control, "I'm Summer, by the way, Summer Rose."

"What the, how, never mind," Naruto just shook his head, chalking up the girls sudden movement to being her semblance or something, and held out his hand with the friendliest smile known to man, "Naruto Uzumaki, nice to meet ya!"

"Um, is your friend alright, he's just standing there staring at the light pole?" Summer asked, waving her hand in front of Taiyang's face but got no visible reaction.

"Oh this happens when he sees something his mind can't comprehend, don't worry though I have the perfect solution," Taiyang really should have been paying attention to the revenge fueled smile on Naruto's face, because moments later Naruto grabbed him by his arm, spun slightly, and threw Taiyang right over his shoulder and into one of the stone columns just a few yards away.

"Gah, my back!" Tai's sudden scream brought a satisfied smile to Naruto's face, one that was mirrored by Summer's bemused one at what she thought was boys just being boys.

"I can't tell which one of you is the older brother and which one is the young," Summer said in good humor, making Naruto chuckle as he just shook his head.

"I'm the older one, but only by like two days," Naruto's clarification did little to clarify anything for Summer, in fact she looked even more confused than before.

"So you're not twins?"

"Nope, mom was pregnant with Tai when they found me. Long story short, I'm adopted," now that did make sense to Summer, but unfortunately anything else she might have said was interrupted by Taiyang suddenly slamming both his feet into Naruto's chest with a rather impressive flying kick.

Normally this wouldn't have really done anything more than put Naruto on his ass, but unfortunately Tai had his semblance activated and sent his fellow blonde flying over the edge of the cliff. You could hear Naruto cursing Tai all the way down, but the younger blonde didn't seem to care and instead just got back to his feet. He then proceeded to turn to Summer and hold out his hand.

"Taiyang Xiao Long, at your service," now Summer was back to being confused.

"But wasn't your brother's last name Uzumaki?"

(**Present Time**)

The newly renovated amphitheater of Beacon Academy, of which the new headmaster was rumored to have spared no expense on, was quite a sight to behold once you walked in through a massive set of double doors about sixty feet tall. The massive glass dome and raised bleachers encircling the stage were the newest additions, leaving quite a large area open in front of the stage itself where the latest batch of students now stood. Naruto was a little starstruck the moment he walked in, having never seen anything like this back home and especially not from the training school he and Tai went to before coming to Beacon.

"Man, would you just look at this place," Qrow said as he came to a stop right next to Naruto, hands still stuffed in his pockets as his big sister walked up next to him; she was still trying to fix the rope Naruto cut to steal her sheath.

"I know, right? This place is gonna be awesome!" Naruto said, his voice somewhere between a laugh and a shout as he threw his hands up into the air with a big old grin on his face.

"Whatever," Raven hissed, still a little pissed she'd actual been _beaten_ and was looking to get as far away from the blonde menace as possible, "Lets go, Qrow."

Naruto just stood there and watched the twins walk away with a confused look on his face; it wasn't like he'd done anything wrong to them right? Oh well, he wasn't gonna let a grumpy girl get him down when he's so close to achieving his dream of becoming a legendary Huntsman the likes of which the world had never seen before! It was going to be great, with all the adventures he'd go on, all the Grimm he was gonna fight, and maybe meet a few pretty girls along the way! Oh yes, the future really was looking bright!

"Hey Naruto, where've you been?" upon hearing Tai's _wonderful_ voice, Naruto slowly turned his head to face his little brother with an all to pleasant smile on his face.

"Oh Tai, you know, just dropping in on some of the other new students," Tai knew that tone of voice better than most, "But you wouldn't know anything about that, now would you?"

"Ehehehe?" the younger brother slowly backed away, scratching the back of his head, while wondering what his chances were of making it past Naruto and getting back to the transport ships before he was caught.

"Everyone, quiet down," a sharp female voice cut through the air like a hot knife through butter, silencing everyone in an instant and saving Tai from a major beating.

Standing up on the stage, with several green lights cast upon her to give her the appearance of green skin, was the legendary Headmistress Elphaba Thropp. Standing at a staggering six feet, Elphaba was dressed from the neck down in a very form fitting black dress with bright red heels poking out from beneath the folds of her dress. Her long black hair was left loose to flow in the wind while a pointed hat rested atop her head to keep it all in place. You could already see hearts forming in some of the male student's eyes.

"There, that's much better," Elphaba nodded to herself as she took a few steps forwards to the edge of the stage, "I'd like to personally welcome each and every one of you to Beacon Academy and applaud you on both your skill and talent for making it as far as you have. It takes a special kind of talent or skill to be accepted into the most renowned academy in all of Remnant, of which I myself am most eager to see grown during your stay within these halls. Now, without further ado, allow me to present Headmaster Aleister Crowley."

Whispers once again began to fill the auditorium as the newest headmaster walked forward and into the light, stopping next to Elphaba and resting both hands on his cane. He slowly turned his head as his eyes scanned the crowd, noting that every single one of the students he showed interest in had indeed joined his academy.

"Welcome to the first day of the rest of your lives."

* * *

**I can't believe I finally got around to watching RWBY seven seasons after the show came out. It's like once you get to season 3 the graphics just keep shooting up and up!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2: Meeting Old and New People.**

After Headmaster Aleister's rousing speech for all the new students of Beacon Academy, Headmistress Elphaba informed all the students that they would be sleeping in the auditorium until their entrance test the very next day. It struck Naruto a little odd that they were going to take an entrance test _after_ already arriving at Beacon, but maybe that was just a thing they did here on the mainland. After all, the island of Patch was a lot more laid back with just about everything, especially considering the most dangerous Grimm they had were maybe one or two alpha Beowolfs and a few packs of Ursa running around. Hell, it was those types of Grimm that most young students practiced on before going to one of the four major schools. Naruto was actually a bit excited about that; he'd long since grown bored of obliterating Beowolf packs.

Now here he was, the very next day, standing in one of the very airships that had brought everyone to Beacon in the first place. It should also be noted that the ship was packed with all the other new students as well, each now in their combat gear, with Headmaster Crowley himself standing back near the ramp. Apparently they were all being transported to a place called the Emerald Forest, a forest Naruto wasn't that familiar with, and would be given their final initiation there. What was strange was how all the windows had been blacked out and their scrolls were taken away as they boarded the ship.

"Don't look so nervous," Tai said, standing next to Naruto with his hands on his hips and a cocky smile on his face, "We're gonna get through this like we get through everything else life throws at us."

"Together," Naruto finished with his own grin, the two blondes bumping fists as Aleister tapped his cane against the metal flooring; instantly silencing the rowdy students and drawing their attention to him.

"As many of you were no doubt taught at your previous schools, those who hunt the Grimm are often put in situations in which they are forced to think on their feet to complete an objective. In a few short moments we will be arriving at the Emerald Forest, home to a great many diverse species of Grimm allowed to remain for the sole purpose of your training. Within this forest is where your individual teams shall be formed based on your combat capability, aptitude for survival, and if you even _survive_ till the end," Aleister's gaze met each of their own with an unflinching resolve, "That being said, deep within the forest is an old ruin in which there is a single artifact for each student here. Your objective is to retrieve an artifact of your choosing and make it to the extraction point by the time the sun sets. The extraction point itself will be revealed once every hour by a column of red smoke. Are there any questions?"

One young man raised his hand, "Um, sir, is there really a chance for us to die during this?"

"Your opponents are creatures born to hunt down and destroy every man, woman, and child on the face of the world. You are being trained to fight said creatures. If you keep your wits about you and remember your training then you will survive. However, make no mistake, the threat of death is very real. Now," Aleister tapped is cane once more on the ground and the back hatch began to open, only for everyone's eyes to widen at the fact that they were still clearly high up in the air, "You may begin when ready."

"Wait, you expect us to jump?" another student asked, disbelief clear in his voice.

His answer came in the form of an excited shout as a blonde blur went shooting past him and towards the open ramp, "OUT OF THE WAY SLOWPOKES!"

Naruto didn't even hesitate to jump, he even added in a bit of a backflip for style points, and left behind several shocked students and a rather mirthful headmaster. Two familiar twins shared a look before taking off after the blonde, which was followed by Tai and then Summer who let out her own giggle. This set of a chain reaction of a practical mob of students leaping to their presumed deaths, which many would end up surviving relatively unharmed thanks to one factor or another. In the end, Aleister was just left standing there in a now empty airship, watching the latest generation of warriors take the first step on their path against the Grimm.

It was such a shame that the majority of them would end up giving their lives in a war that possibly no one of this generation would ever see the end of. How strange it was, Aleister remembered the first incarnation that he truly began to build the foundation for what he has today. He remembered how he cared for the twelve members of his group more than his own life, each of them possessing the legendary silver eyes that Aleister never could truly understand, but more importantly he remembered how each of them fell in the end. Salem had been more active back then, her rage still burning hot after he'd tried to steal their children away, and she was not shy about taking her wrath out on those Aleister cared for the most.

Now he was just numb to it all, he had to be. Aleister knew that if he allowed himself to grow too close then it would only end up breaking him again, it had happened so many times before. Salem would kill them, they would leave after learning to truth, they would _join_ Salem, or more often than not they would just die on some task he'd given to them.

"Don't grow attached, keep focused on your goal, don't grow attached," Aleister chanted like a holy mantra, the grip on his cane growing tighter as the last student fell out of view and the cargo ramp slowly closed

Meanwhile, still free-falling from his over excited jump out of a perfectly good airship, Naruto was beginning to realize that perhaps he was much higher up than he first thought. On the plus side he could clearly see the old ruin Headmaster Crowley had been talking about and was doing his best to fall towards it so he could be as close as possible, while secretly hoping Tai could catch up. Closer and closer the treetops came, meaning it was more than time to begin his landing strategy he came up with while still falling.

Reaching into the cylinder marked wind with on hand and pulling out two of his kunai with another, Naruto placed two circular carved pieces of white dust into the holes on each kunai. The dust seemed to melt into the kunai, traveling like veins down into where the hilts met the blades themselves, and what followed made Naruto grin just a bit more; considering he designed the damn things. The two blades split in half, right down the middle, and revealed to barrels that exploded with a torrent of wind; wind strong enough to slow Naruto down a significant amount. It was just enough so that Naruto could dig is now closed kunai into the trunk of a thick tree on his way down and use it like a massive brake, skidding to a stop on the slightly muddy forest floor but with his grin now firmly in place.

"Ha, and Tai said they wouldn't work," Naruto chuckled, flipping both kunai through the air once or twice before sheathing them once more, taking a look around to get his bearings and taking off in the direction of the ruins.

Naruto must have ran for only about five minutes before hearing the sound of two people shouting some rather propane words at one another, not to mention he could have sworn they sounded _really_ familiar. So, being the curious guy that he naturally was, Naruto shifted direction just a bit and came across the funniest sight he'd seen in a long time. Those two twins, of whom Naruto couldn't remember if he got their names or not, were stuck up in a tangle of branches that had apparently caught them on the way down with a pack of Beowolfs prowling around below them. Judging by the surrounding area, the twins had apparently landed right in their den and startled the whole pack into a frenzy.

"This is great, just great, you just _had_ to antagonize them by throwing crap," Qrow growled at his sister, who was about as tangled up as he was at the moment, while keeping a very close eye on the rather stubborn Beowolf that was trying to climb one of the trees.

"I was trying to cut myself free and _dropped_ my knife by mistake," Raven hissed back, "I don't see you coming up with any grand ideas on how to get out of a mess _you_ put us in."

"You have no proof it was my semblance," Qrow retorted.

"Oh, so I just happened to miss cutting that last branch, which landed us in this fine mess?"

"Maybe you're just not as good as you think you are."

"I'm going to beat you when we get out of this!" if Raven could kill with a glare then lets just say Qrow would be happily put out of his misery.

"Awww, look at the cute little puppies!" a loud voice cut through the entire area, gaining both the twins and the packs attention, as Naruto stepped out into the open with a big old cocky grin plastered all across his face and his arms crossed like he didn't have a care in the world.

"Oh no, not this guy again," Qrow got a small bit of joy at seeing his sister's face right now.

"Do the cute little puppies want to go for a walk," Naruto continued to mock the Beowolfs that were now slowly stalking towards him, crouching down ever so slightly and clapping his hands, "Common, I'll take you for a walk. Common!"

The very moment the first Beowolf took off the rest of the pack followed, charging after Naruto with a vengeance as the blonde ran back into the forest and out of sight. Qrow had to give the guy guts, provoking a pack of Grimm like that so that he and his sister could get free, it almost makes him want to go help out. Sadly, they were both still tangled up enough that they couldn't really move to grab their other weapons and the only person that knew where they were had just ran off with a pack of Grimm hot on his heels. Qrow was content to just sit there, the vines and branches wrapped around him were surprisingly comfy, but unfortunately Raven wasn't so patient and was actively thrashing around to try and get loose.

"Yo, you guys need some help?" crouching down on a branch above him, which was just thick enough to hold his weight without too much strain, was the very teenager that had just been chased into the woods by the pack of Grimm.

"What the…? How the hell did you get up there and what happened to those Grimm?" Qrow did a double take, knowing for a fact that he would have noticed someone climbing the very damn tree he was stuck in, but Naruto just grinned and pulled out the wakizashi strapped across his back.

"A magician never reveals his tricks," Naruto teased a bit, now looking around for the best branches to cut that would get the twins loose but not have them go crashing to the ground, "Now stop moving or you're gonna make me miss."

"Hey, now wait just a moment!"

_SLASH!_

_SLASH!_

_SLASH!_

_SLASH!_

In a blur of movement, Naruto launched himself between the two trees the twins were tangled up in between and slashed most of the vines that had been keeping their arms and legs tangled up. It would also seem that luck was on their side because not a single one of the main vines had been cut and thus they didn't go tumbling to the ground.

"There we go, now you guys should be able to get yourselves free," Naruto said from his new position on a branch near Raven, sheathing his sword while still having that same cheeky grin on his face.

"Hey, my semblance didn't…oh shit!" Qrow let out a startled cry when suddenly _all_ of the branches keeping him up snapped at the same time and he did get a face full of dirt.

"You were saying, little brother?" Raven mocked as she herself finally got loose and jumped to the ground, landing on her feet and with much more dignity that her brother, all the while sending him her infamous mocking smile.

"Shut up, that wasn't funny," Qrow groaned, picking himself up with a few notable cracks sounding from his body.

"Hm, I could have sworn I missed those branches," then there was Naruto, who was now standing almost right behind Raven without ever making a sound, with his hand cupping his chin in thought; he knew his aim wasn't off.

"Wasn't your fault," Qrow spoke up while dusting off his already filthy clothes, "My semblance makes me a literal bad luck charm. Sometimes I can control it, other times it pops up to bite me in the ass."

"Hm, and what about yours?" Naruto asked Raven, wondering what a girl like her could for a semblance to augment her already aggressive nature.

"None of your damn business!" Naruto was a little taken aback at the sudden hostility aimed right at him; what the hell did he do?!

"She can make portals to anyone she has a close personal bond with."

"Qrow!"

Raven couldn't believe how _stupid_ her brother was being right now, he was giving away valuable information to someone that would one day be their _enemy_! Did he forget they came to Beacon to learn how to kill hunters, not to go around spilling all their secrets to them! Hell, she could even understand if he gave away his own semblance, there wasn't really any way to counter bad luck aside from a decent reaction time, but he didn't have to go and spill the beans about hers!

"Ah, that does make sense then," Naruto commented, drawing Raven's attention away from Qrow just long enough for the young Branwen to get out of range of her wrath, "I mean you are the older sister after all."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Raven asked while crossing her arms; Naruto was beginning to think it was just her time of the month or something, she was _way_ too moody for it to be anything else.

"Well it's an older siblings job to look after the young ones, so I'm guessing that your semblance just manifested from your desire to always be able to reach the people closest to you wherever they are. It's actually pretty cool, you guys must be the best tag team ever!" Raven and Qrow were a little surprised by the blonde's words, enough for Raven to push past her desire to strange Qrow at least.

"Yea, we're pretty awesome."

Whatever Qrow was about to say next was interrupted by a very loud and girlish scream echoing through the entire Emerald Forest, no doubt drawing every hunter and Grimm's attention for miles around. Qrow at least looked a little worried for whoever had just screamed, Raven looked just as indifferent as she normally did when her fuse wasn't lit, and Naruto looked to be..._snickering_?

"Hey, what's so funny, some girl is probably being attacked by Grimm?" asked Qrow.

"Trust me, that wasn't a girl that screamed just now," Naruto continued to try and hold in his building laughter before casually taking off into the woods in the direction that the scream came from.

"Wait, what?"

* * *

When Naruto and the twins burt into the clearing, where they all heard the scream come from, the found exactly where that pack of Beowolfs had run off to and who they had found. Standing there, surrounded by the evaporating Grimm corpses, were five other students with their weapons drawn and all standing in a circle to watch each others backs. Two of them Naruto recognized as Taiyang and Summer, with the cloak wearing girl holding a spear of all things, but the other three were a complete mystery.

The first of them that Naruto noticed was a man that stood about a head taller than himself, dressed in a black bodysuit with a bronze painted breastplate, two matching bracers on each arm, a skirt of leather strips around his waist that reached about half way down his thighs, and a pair of armored boots that reached almost all the way up to his knees. The majority of his features were hidden behind the helmet he wore, which left mostly his eyes and mouth open. What Naruto could make out were the man's bright green eyes and the braided ends of black hair that stuck out from beneath the helmet. Strapped to his left hand was a circular shield that held a story literally carved into it, while his right hand held a simple looking xiphos.

If the man looked built for battle then the woman standing a few feet away from him looked built for war. Her features may have been soft, almost beautiful if you asked the right person, but her steel grey eyes spoke that she was ready to fight anything. Despite her full plate armor, which made her look like a knight from the old stories, she also held a longsword in her right hand. Her shiny black hair was cut short, as to not get in the way of a fight, and the scar on her cheek at least told Naruto she'd been in more than a few.

Finally, amongst all the warriors, hunters, and martial artists of the group, the last one Naruto noticed could only really be described as a princess with bits of armor attached to her. She was somewhere between Summer and Raven's height, although she was dressed in a moderately flexible white in blue gown, with a pair of knee high boots, and a pair of odd looking gauntlets that went all the way from her fingers up to her elbows. The gauntlets themselves look like some piece of high-tech machinery, with etchings in them that held different colors to symbolize the dust held within, while on the palms of the hand were odd looking circles that had a snowflake design embedded in the middle of them. And while her armor was expensive, her rather pale skin, startling pure white hair that was held up in a fancy braid, practically screamed that she came from a wealthy family.

"Well, look who finally decided to show up," Tai said the moment he saw his older brother, a teasing smile on his face as he walked over and embraced Naruto in a brotherly hug.

"All I stumbled upon these two all tangled up in the trees," Naruto said, gesturing over his shoulder to the twins before looking around at the carnage that had no doubt that ensued, "Looks like you had some fun though."

"You could say that. I ran into Summer and we decided to team up, only for a pack of Beowolfs to come charging out of the forest at us. They seem to be coming after me particularly hard. Anyway, these three stumbled upon as an aside to lend us a hand," Tai summarized, walking Naruto over to the three people he'd yet to meet.

"This is Achilles, Jeaune, and Willow," the three unknowns turned to Naruto and gave their own greeting, in their own unique ways.

"It was a good fight, broke up the boredom of walking through this forest. Achilles Nikos, from Mistral, your brothers a good fighter," the taller man said, nodding his head slightly to Taiyang but otherwise kept a lookout for any more Grimm.

"We should move on before more Grimm come, this battle would've attracted them," Jeaune spoke up, her tone very professional if maybe even a little cold, but when you're in a forest of Grimm who could really blame her.

"The real question is, does anybody have a clue what direction the ruin is in?" Summer pointed out as she walked over to join the rest of the group, "Oh, and it's good to see you all right Naruto."

"Hi Summer, and I do believe that there is one way to find out for sure," Naruto said as he and Tai shared a look, almost like it was some kind of an inside joke that only they got.

The two blondes then turned around and began walking in opposite directions, with Tai stopping much sooner than Naruto, leaving the rest of the group more confused than anything else. That is until Naruto himself turned around and charged at his younger brother in a dead sprint, blowing right down the middle of the group in a blur. If one were to look closely at Tai then they would see a flash of fire around his hands that took the form of dragon claws. The next thing everyone else saw was Naruto plant his feet in Tai's cupped hands and then launch the older blonde so high that it should have been impossible for a man of his size.

Higher and higher Naruto seemed to go, his body twisting around and around until his eyes finally landed on the ruins once more, just seconds before gravity took a hold of him once more. Now normally a fall from such a height would kill a man, but Naruto was more than a little special and he wasted no time in gathering aura into his legs and feet. Yet it all seemed to be for nothing as a strange black snowflake, nearly the size of Naruto himself, appearing right behind him and on the ground far below him. Amazingly his momentum began to decrease and he floated gently to the ground. Standing there, with her right hand outstretched and the glyph on her gauntlet glowing black, was Willow with an amused smile on her lips.

"Man, everyone here just has awesome semblances," Naruto laughed, "By the way, the ruins are in that direction."

"Well you heard the man, let's get a move on!"

* * *

**I'd like to thank everyone that reviewed the last chapter and gave their thoughts on it, especially those that gave suggestions. Anyway, not much to say in regards to this one aside from me hoping that everyone enjoyed it.**


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